AWD Chase de Vere, the UK-based independent financial advisory firm, has bolstered its private client team with the hire of former rugby champion Paul Fox.

Fox joins as a private client advice manager for the North, responsible for the Birmingham, Glasgow, Leeds, Manchester, Newcastle and Preston offices and will report directly to the chief executive of AWD Chase de Vere, Stephen Kavanagh. 

Fox will also take responsibility for meeting business quality standards, developing relationships with professional advisors such as lawyers and accountants and the recruitment of top quality financial advisors, said the firm in a statement.

Fox has 32 years' experience in the industry, most recently as head of business relations at UK IFA LEBC Group and head of large corporate clients at Origen. He played as a professional rugby league player at Castleford, Halifax and Featherstone Rovers.